Whovian Wednesday : Sci-Fi Week!!

It’s officially every body’s favourite day — Whovian Wednesday! This week Cash Money has rounded up the top 5 episodes across all of the Doctor Who series that best relate to this weeks theme of Sci-Fi! Yes, even though Doctor Who is already a science fiction show, there are some episodes that represent that sci-fi genre more-so than others. 😀

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Hello everyone and welcome to the most essential week to all fans of Doctor Who — Science Fiction! Over the years since I’ve been introduced to this iconic series, I’ve learned that it is about stories: The tales of the Doctor’s adventures through space and time, the companions and rivals he has encountered throughout the universe. Yet my favorite stories over the past several years are those of the fans.

Each time I meet new people who know ‘Doctor Who’, the same conversations begin; When did you start watching?; Who’s your favorite Doctor?; and the ultimate question, Who was your first (Doctor)? The episodes I’ll leave with you today are those that are considered to be the most beloved episodes of the series’ 35 seasons, but what I would like to share with anyone who stumbles upon this is my story of how I came to revere this amazing contribution to television and modern culture.

I was first introduced to the series in 2007, when some friends of mine were watching Series 1 of ‘Doctor Who’ starring Christopher Eccleston (unfortunately, I don’t recall what episode I started watching), and I was hooked from the start. In 2008, I watched Series 4 as my first full series and just before ‘The Next Doctor’, I decided that I would watch the entire classic series. Recently, I’ve realized that when I started watching in November of 2008, I began this journey of mine at the 45th Anniversary, and I’ll be finishing just before the 50th.

I was and still am saddened to discover that there are many episodes missing, and am especially sad that my favorite Doctor, Patrick Troughton, has the most episodes missing. However, I am still delighted that the longest surviving story, ‘The War Games’, has also turned out to be my favorite. The introduction of the Time Lords, the discovery of how the Doctor acquired his TARDIS, and the end of the black and white era, still gives me the greatest and saddest memories of the last fifty years.

Since the reintroduction of the Series in 2005, I still feel the best story is begun with ‘Utopia’ and involves the return of the Master (as portrayed by Derek Jacobi and John Simm), followed by ‘The Sound of Drums’ and ‘The Last of the Time Lords’ — I still feel that nothing surpassed these episodes until ‘The Name of the Doctor’ and the revelation of the John Hurt incarnation.

Now I know that this is light on ‘Fun Facts’ and other information, but it leaves me with this request: please leave a comment and share your story! Tell us about how you were first introduced to the Doctor, what your favorite story is, or any other interesting bits you would like to share, because it is our stories that we share and that are shared with us that makes this show — and community around it — so special.

— Cory “Cash Money” Bowers

The Caves of Androzani

On the cave-riddled world of Androzani Minor, the Doctorand Peri inadvertently find themselves enmeshed in a war fought between the ruthless General Chellak and the sinister Sharaz Jek and his army of androids.

The duplicitous politician Morgus wants Chellak to execute the time travellers as spies, while the disfigured Jek seeks to keep Peri forever hostage within his stronghold. But the Doctor soon realises an even more gruesome fate awaits them – they have been infected with fatal spectrox toxaemia, and there is no cure…

Hunted by both factions and with death just hours away, how far must the Doctor go in order to save his friend’s life? For more details on ‘The Caves of Androzani’ episode, check out the TardisWiki!

Genesis of the Daleks

Intercepted while travelling between Earth and the Ark, the Fourth Doctor and his companions are transported to the planet Skaro, thousands of years in the past, on a mission for the Time Lords — to prevent the creation of the Daleks. Further details can be found on theTardisWiki.

The Doctor Dances: The Child‘s plague is spreading throughout wartimeLondon, and its zombie army is on the march. The Ninth Doctor and Rose form an alliance with intergalactic con man Captain Jack, but find themselves trapped in the abandoned hospital. The cure lies at the crash site, but time is running out… Read more at the TardisWiki!

The Girl in the Fireplace

For their first trip with Mickey, the Doctor and Rose end up on a space ship in the future. However, something’s screwy; there’s no crew on the ship and random portals into Pre-revolutionary France fill almost all of the ship. Adding onto the oddness, there are broken clocks, but the sound of them ticking is still heard… Read the whole plot at the TardisWiki!

Not for the first time, unusual events are unfolding at Coal Hill School, and at Totters Lane junkyard, the Doctor discovers that his oldest foes — the Daleks — are on the trail of stolen Time Lord technology which he left on Earth centuries ago. The Daleks are planning to perfect their own time-travel capability, in order to unleash themselves across the whole of time and space.

The Doctor, with the help of the local military, must stop his oldest enemies from stealing Gallifreyan secrets, but the lines between allies and enemies are tested to the limit, and the Doctor and Ace must trust no-one to survive.

As two opposing Dalek factions meet in an explosive confrontation, the fate of the whole cosmos hangs in the balance… for the whole story, read the TardisWiki!

How exciting!! Which episode is your favourite? And please, leave a comment sharing your story of your first Doctor! 😀
Cheers!!
— Elise M. Gross